LSE equities move both ways

Equities moved both ways on the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE), and finally stayed in positive zone with the help of Nishat Mills, OGDC and Adamjee Insurance, amid descending transaction volume for lack of interest on the part of investors. The LSE-25 index further improved by 20.07 points, and closed at 3426.56 against 3406.49 of Monday, while trading turnover denoted a decline of 8.436 million shares, that squeezed to 117.552 million shares as compared to 125.988 million shares traded on Monday.
The fuel sector except OGDC showed downward trend. Pak Oil Field, PSO, PPL, Picic, Sui Northern, Sui Southern, Fauji Fertiliser Company and Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim remained under pressure owing to selling pressure.
The market, which opened on a healthy note, kept upward trend till noon. However, it could not sustain, and started declining on account of selling pressure in selective scrips.
However, fresh buying in Nishat Mills, Adamjee Insurance and OGDC took the market upward till closing of trading.
"It is a senseless market now where common sense does not work, but tools like information along with finance wins", said Ahmad Nabeel of Invest and Finance Securities, while commenting on the market sentiments.
The news regarding violation of cease-fire by Indians along the Line of Control forced the institutions to offload their holdings to secure its positions, which caused selling pressure in the market.
The weak-holders remained on the sidelines due to weak 'heart and pocket', he maintained. Except OGDC, all shares of the petroleum and oil companies performed 'very poor', but on the contrary, the shares of companies headed by Mian Mansha once again outperformed among all the listed scrips for the second consecutive day, he added.
Ahmad Nabeel was of the view that selective shares of textile and sugar sectors, and PTCL are expected to take the market upward in coming days. However, the investors should take due care in making investment and prefer day to day transactions instead of taking long-term position.
The market, which has been persistently inching upward for the last few days, can take dip due to technical correction, he viewed.
Declining stocks were ahead of advancing ones, as out of a total of 88 active issues, 12 companies registered gains, 33 suffered losses, while 43 remained unchanged.
Among the gainers, Nishat Mills improved by Rs 5.10, Adamjee Insurance appreciated by Rs 3.35, while OGDC and ICI Pak were up by Rs 1.65 and Rs 1.25, respectively. In the negative column, Pak Oil Field declined by Rs 7.00, PSO lost Rs 4.10, PPL depreciated Rs 4.00, while Picic and Sui Northern Gas were down by Rs 2.60 and Rs 2.25, respectively.
OGDC was the market leader whose 22.711 million shares changed hands, followed by PTCL and Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim with total trading of 12.847 million and 12.384 million shares, respectively.